Spartans Cross Country Set to Begin Season
8/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Aug. 30, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Cross Country team kicks off the 2007 season on the last day of August with the Jeff Drenth Memorial on the campus of
The Spartan women return their top performer in junior Alissa McKaig, who had a tremendous cross country season last year, she racked up almost every possible award and honor that she could for the Spartans. The junior hopes to continue her success on the track, following a season that included a trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 5,000-meter run.
On the men's side, the team lost three of their top scorers from the NCAA qualifying team, but return fourth and fifth-place team finishers Adam Sprangel and Dustin Voss. Sprangel, now a senior, was the third Spartan to cross the finish line at the Big Ten Championships with a 23rd-place finish. Voss, also a senior, was the Spartans top finisher as a freshman in 2004 at the NCAA Championships and will be looking to complete his collegiate career with a strong season.
"It will be good to get the team together and in uniform for the first time," said head coach and Director of Cross Country Walt Drenth. "We are looking forward to see how they establish themselves. We are looking for a number of runners to be in the front group (when the race ends.)"
The team got off to a successful start to last season in the Drenth Memorial as the women captured the top four spots at the unscored three-team event, while the men's side saw eight runners finish in the top 15. The team's next race comes on September 14th when they host the Spartan Invitational, an event that features college, high school and middle school races.
